Submitted by OgilvyAgency IPI Score 95/100

The Chicago Design System

Content Creation

Ogilvy gave the City of Chicago a new identity that extends its four-star flag with a fifth star for citizens, made freely downloadable for public and department use.

Case in 60 seconds

Chicago's many government departments and campaigns were visually fragmented, and the city wanted an identity that felt inclusive and owned by citizens.

Chicago's four-star flag is a symbol residents already love, so the identity could grow from it rather than replace it.

Add a fifth star, as an extension of the flag rather than a change to it, to represent citizens and to be shared with them.

Ogilvy built a design system for the city's departments and made the branding downloadable so citizens and businesses could use it too.

The source reports no direct metrics; a linked third-party article estimates the system could save the city up to $10 million a year by unifying department design.

Strategy Breakdown

The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.

Chicago's official departments needing a unified look, plus the citizens and businesses invited to adopt the identity.
City rebrands can feel imposed from the top down, and residents can reject an identity that ignores symbols they already cherish.
The city needed one coherent, meaningful system across many government entities without alienating the public.
Chicago positioned the new identity as belonging to its people, extending a beloved flag rather than overwriting it.
People adopt an identity more readily when it grows from a symbol they already own and is handed to them to use freely.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • City lockup and star identity
  • Department branding applications
  • Publicly downloadable brand assets

Partners

  • Ogilvy

Participation mechanic

  • Citizens and businesses can download and use the branding themselves

Creator role

  • Not disclosed

Why Ogilvy's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Extending a beloved existing symbol, the four-star flag, rather than replacing it lowered the risk of public rejection.

  2. 2

    Making the fifth star represent citizens gave the identity civic meaning beyond a government logo.

  3. 3

    Allowing citizens and businesses to download and use the branding turned adoption into a public act.

  4. 4

    A single system across many departments promised coherence and, per a third-party estimate, cost savings.

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